InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Feudal Fairy Tales ❯ Pit of Darkness ( Chapter 41 )

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and other associated companies.

 

 

Chapter Forty-One: Pit of Darkness

 

 

With a soft, plaintive murmur, Kagome stirred weakly under the heavy veil of her shadowy sleep. Devoid of dream, the sinking weight of its emptiness lifted slowly as her mind drifted towards consciousness. Blinking her heavy lids as she awoke, her newly opened eyes found the same darkness that plagued her slumber. The school girl fixed her mouth into a frown as she reached to lightly brush the remaining vestiges of sleep from her sight. The last that she could remember was stepping up the dark stairs carved into the rock wall on the beach. She grumbled irritably. Her tendency to inexplicably wake up in strange places had become a very unwelcomed habit lately.

 

The soreness of her pressed cheek drew her annoyance next and she lifted her heavy head to rub away the pain. Under the delicate touch of her fingers, Kagome felt her face and found the long, triangular imprint that marked her displeasure. Gently, she massaged her cheek, the tenderness beginning to lessen after a few strokes. Once satisfied, her hand left her face to feel for the culprit behind her discomfort. Smooth and hard, the tapering curve of a metal spike greeted her touch. She followed its short length to the flat piece that it was securely anchored to. Puzzled by the persisting mystery, the school girl continued her exploration, tracing her finger down the elegant edge of the small plate and then fingering the feathery threads of a tassel she found at its end. She left its tickling caress for the fine grain of hardened leather. As her hand glided over the wrinkled relief, it gradually dawned on her that it was armor that delighted her fingers and all of which was swiftly followed by the revelation of exactly whose.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama,” Kagome whispered loudly in the absolute darkness, “Sesshoumaru-sama, are you awake?” Silence greeted her ears and fueled her pressing concern. The recent and disturbing memory of him caked in blood as he laid lifeless on the sand haunted her thoughts and her stomach turned as a drowning wave of dread washed over her. “Sesshoumaru-sama, please answer me.”

 

His unsettling quiet remained, hanging in the warm air ominously. Unwilling to wait any longer, the anxious school girl shifted her body to straddle the youkai lord's torso with her knees falling to his sides and onto the smooth floor he laid upon. Sitting back, she moved to sit up and cried out when her head met the low surface overhead. With moist eyes and a mumbled curse, she soothingly rubbed the freshly forming bruise at the back of her head. Eventually, her hesitant hand left the tender bump for the unexpected ceiling that she had struck so enthusiastically. Even to the touch like sanded wood, Kagome brushed the back of her hand over the sharply sloping surface, tracing its curve until it was broken by the thick line of a seam. Mirroring the ceiling, the arc turned in as it continued to form the floor.

 

“An oval?” she said softly under her breath as her hand now glided lengthwise, feeling the longer, but undoubtedly similar tapering curve she had found along its width. Sure of her rather confining surroundings, the school girl carefully inched up the tai youkai's body while she searched keenly for his face. Her delicate touch ghosted over the cool silk of his coat and the fine strands of his strangely disheveled hair. Then she swallowed down when her questing fingers found the hard line of his jaw and the smooth, unblemished skin of his cheek. Slipping down along the bone, she found the knob of his chin and with trembling anticipation, her hand drifted up to feel the soft flesh of his parted lips. Her fingers left his mouth to comb her thick locks of hair away from her ear and then she leaned in, listening earnestly for his breaths while she held her own. Shallow and easy, the puffs he exhaled gently warmed the thin skin of her ear, relieving her worry more with every rhythmic motion. She sighed giddily as she hovered over him, reveling in the quiet sound of his unfailing life.

 

“Miko,” the smooth baritone of the demon's voice spoke up, interrupting her odd delight with his puzzlement, “Why are you sitting astride me and listening to me breathe?” In her surprise, Kagome jerked away from his face and with a loud thump her ill-fated head met the low ceiling yet again.

 

“Dammit,” she muttered angrily, feeling timidly for the twice-struck lump while she winced from the sharp spike of renewed pain. Even though she could not see it, she knew he was entertaining his usual furrowed brow at her awkwardness.

 

“Well?”

 

“I don't know what happened after we stepped up the stairs,” she explained tersely and followed with a pained hiss as she gently rubbed the growing bump, “But when I woke up, I was laying on top of you. It seems like we're in some sort of oval-shaped container. There's no room to move, even if I wanted to.”

 

“Hn,” he grunted in irritation at the apparent confinement, “And your proximity to my mouth?”

 

“Uh,” the school girl stalled uneasily before his inescapable question, the only glimmer in her swelling embarrassment arising from the fact that the discerning tai youkai could not likely see the rosy blush flushing her cheeks at the moment. “I just wanted to check, that's all.”

 

“Check for what?”

 

“To see if you were still breathing?” she admitted nervously, ending her unpleasant reply in a question in the dim hope that it would seed some doubt in the uncomfortable truth. As she spoke it though, she knew her weak ruse had failed and that somewhere in the darkness there was a glare intended for her.

 

“Hn,” he snorted indignantly at the suggestion behind the miko's words, “I will not die from so petty an ailment. It would be in your best interest to--”

 

“Not concern myself,” Kagome interrupted, finishing his answer before he could speak it. “I know. I know. But, you didn't have to see yourself on the beach. You didn't have to wonder if… if you would ever wake up again.”

 

He remained in pensive quiet even as the fading words of her trailing thoughts ceased. After a long pause, she felt him shift beneath her with the satin caress of his silk sleeve brushing against her shoulder as he moved. The light scrape of his claws soon followed, its hushed sound dragging across the ceiling.

 

“Get down, miko,” he commanded sternly as he withdrew his hand and from beneath her prone body she felt him tense. Heeding his warning, she collapsed against his chest with her face buried into the dip of his neck. Hard and fast, the youkai lord's fist flew, striking hard against the smooth surface with a resounding crack. Even while it shuddered under the force of his blow, the ceiling remained undeniably intact as it flashed vibrantly in a brilliant blue showering of sparks. The glittering light lingered unnaturally in the hot air and the school girl lifted her shielded head to embrace the rare radiance. She gasped lightly in surprise when her eyes found the close and unusually teal stare of the demon; its hue dyed so by the strange glow. Slowly falling from the ceiling, dazzling clumps of dying light surrounded the silent travelers. Kagome moved her mouth as if to speak, but soon realized that her usually plentiful words had failed her. Instead, she remained speechless in their shared sight as the growing darkness gradually reclaimed its hold.

 

“That didn't work,” she finally managed as the last of the illumination faded until only the mesmerizing image of the youkai lord and the small space they shared lingered in her mind.

 

“No, it did not,” Sesshoumaru replied with a faint sigh, his nails finding a few tangled locks of his silken hair. Steadily and carefully, he combed them while he thought. “Have you deduced what tale we are in yet?”

 

“Bobbing along a peach floats. Sweet for bitter it is caught,” the school girl answered with a few verses of the poem. “It has to be Momotaro, the story of the boy born from a peach.”

 

“And?”

 

“You don't know the story of Momotaro? It's probably one of the most famous folktales ever told.”

 

“I would not ask if I did,” he answered sharply, annoyed at her apparent disbelief.

 

“I'm sorry,” she apologized before she began, pressing a finger to her lip as she recalled its familiar details from her distant memory. “It was a story that my grandfather used to always tell me before I went to bed. I hope I do it some justice.

 

Many years ago, there was an old, barren couple who had never known children and who worked hard to keep their meager living. The husband would leave everyday to cut the grass on the mountains while his wife remained behind to tend their field and keep the house. One day as she went to the river to wash their laundry, she saw a large peach floating on the water. Wanting it for her husband's dinner, she reached for it, but try as she might, it was too far for her to catch. Just when she thought to give up, she remembered an ancient charm and while she sang its tune, it lured the fruit to the shore and into her waiting hands.

 

Quickly, she took the peach home and set it aside for the old man's return. At the end of the day when he came home, it was to his delight that his wife gave him the fruit for his supper. Retrieving a knife to cut it, he was stopped by a strange voice and the fruit split in half. From its divided pit, a small boy emerged. The proud child declared he was a gift from the heavens to reward the dutiful couple for their devoted years of hard work.”

 

“Issunboshi,” the tai youkai remarked.

 

“In a way I suppose so,” Kagome replied thoughtfully, “But, this boy will grow in this story to become tall and strong. After many years, but before he became an adult, Momotaro went to his father and thanked him for looking after him for so long. The old man told the boy that it was all fair, because one day, he would look after them when they grow truly old. Agreeing to the exchange, Momotaro asked his father for one favor before he committed to looking after them. Unwilling to deny his only son any wish, the old man asked what he desired. The boy said he desired to travel and to find the evil band of ogres that had been attacking the innocent villagers far to the north. Vile and cannibalistic, the monsters pillaged the land and defied the just emperor before retreating to their haven upon an island on the sea. Despite their worry for his safety, Momotaro's parents allowed him to go to his destiny. But before he left, they gave him a sharp sword and ground out three rice cakes in their mortar to feed his hunger for the journey ahead.

 

Over the roads, the boy traveled until he came to the shade of a tree in a field. There he stopped to eat one of his cakes, but as he went to bite, an angry and ferocious dog appeared. The animal greedily demanded all of his cakes as a toll for him to pass. However, Momotaro laughed at his threat and told of his journey to slay the band of ogres. He added that if he needed to, he would slice the dog in two if he stood against him, but that he would share half of his cake if the animal instead chose to follow him. The dog eagerly agreed and they continued the trek together.”

 

“Ridiculous,” Sesshoumaru sneered.

 

“It's not you. It's just a dog.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“At least I hope it won't be you,” she mumbled softly before beginning her telling again. “As they came to pass some hills, a monkey appeared before them. Much to the dog's jealousy, it swiftly begged to become a comrade of Momotaro's army. The two animals began to fight, but the boy came between them and gave the monkey half a cake and allowed him to join. Their quarrels did not lessen and Momotaro finally divided them, the dog to the front and the monkey at the rear.

 

Next, they came to a tree where a brilliantly colored pheasant roosted. From the branches, it flew below to attack the dog. Momotaro could not help but admire the bird's tenacity and asked it to join his party or be killed by the dog. Given the choice, the pheasant easily surrendered and it too ate its half of a rice cake happily.

 

The animals though still quarreled despite being comrades and Momotaro took them aside. He told them that they would never win if they battled amongst themselves and the next one who fought would be discharged on the spot. Under this persuasion, they all ceased and they became fast friends. After several more days of journeying, they arrived at the ocean shore.

 

The fear of the vast sea and no way to cross disheartened the animals, but Momotaro's courage and sureness bolstered their nerve. The boy soon found a boat and he and his comrades entertained each other on the long voyage to the island.

 

Upon arriving, Momotaro sent the pheasant ahead to challenge the ogres while he and the rest of the animals snuck onto the beach. Upon the roof of the fortress the bird perched, announcing the boy general's arrival and granting the monsters their opportunity to surrender. The ogres laughed at the pheasant's demands and prepared for battle. Soon, they were attacking the bird, but it easily dodged the blows of their iron maces and dove in to slash at their bare heads with its talons.

 

Roaming over the shoreline, Momotaro, the dog and the monkey searched for a way into the stronghold and found two young women by a stream. Dressed in blood stained clothing, they begged the boy and his comrades to save them from the evil desires and insatiable hunger of the ogres and their feared warlord.

 

Together, they entered a secret passageway into the fortress and heard the onslaught brought by the pheasant. Into the fray Momotaro and the animals charged, cutting down the vicious band as they went. Soon there were none left alive save for the beaten warlord. In an act of submission, the monster broke the horns from his head and allowed himself to be chained up in preparation to march before the waiting wrath of the emperor.

 

Momotaro freed the many women, all daughters of various lords and he and his compatriots loaded the ship with treasure. They returned to the mainland as heroes and were regarded highly throughout the provinces. As promised, the boy returned home with his animal comrades in tow, all bearing the treasure of his adventure for his parents. Together, they all lived in comfort and wealth until the end of their days.” With a deep sigh of satisfaction at its telling, Kagome finished her story.

 

“A complicated tale.”

 

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly, “But, if we think about how the story begins…”

 

“Then we are in the peach pit.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“Hm,” the tai youkai murmured questionably, turning his head slightly as he listened intently.

 

“What is it? Do you hear something?”

 

“A song.”